Thankfully, the gamble paid off. Not only was
it the unicorn car that he desired, but it was solid enough to dive straight
into modifying it, to give it those personal touches that would make it
uniquely his. Now, being an authority on the Z31 oeuvre, Adam knew that
aftermarket support for the chassis was rather thin, but he was unperturbed.
As are cent college graduate with a degree
in mechanical engineering, he was optimistic –and throughout the course of his
fettling he developed a close working relationship with To uge Factory/Stance
Suspension, leading to one of the most intricate and well thought-out suspension
setups we’ve seen.
Z31
Nissan 300ZX onn road
“With little existing aftermarket support,
a few enthusiasts and I set out to develop a quality coil over package for the
model,” says Adam. “There had been other community embers who’ve succeeded in
this, but it required a lot of fabrication and trial and error. So adapting
various techniques from AE86s,Cressidas and other ’80s vehicles along with past
failed attempts, parts began to assimilate. But it wasn’t until a phone call
with Stance that things began to really move forward; with their support, parts,
dampers and springs were suggested.” Adam was blazing a trail here, and the
road ahead was far from smooth. That’s the thing about being a pioneer – you
spend a lot of time banging your head against the wall, then everybody else
leaps on to your successful results… you just have to get your head down and
plough on through. It’s a very personal journey.
Z31
Nissan 300ZX features
“Once the parts arrived I could hardly contain
my excitement,” he says, “but I soon realised there was a lot of work ahead.
The rear configuration was easier to comprehend –S13 lower mounts could be used
with the addition of machined spacers; the top Z31bolt pattern was measured and
a custom plate was designed in combination with aspheric cal bearing.
The fronts were a bit trickier– the Z31 strut tubes come welded to the spindle,
so no bolt-on bracket was going to work. Serial 9 threaded tube was purchased, and
some cutting, pressing and welding later the Z31 spindle could now accept a
threaded damper body.” Adam could go on like this all day, it really is a very
intricate setup. The crux of it is this: hybrid Subaru/Cressida units upfront,
modified S13 bits out back, oodles of camber and plenty of adjustability. And
with the rigmarole of CAD-designed roll centre adjusters, reworked control arms
and all sorts of other bespoke work that got the car sitting just-so, attention
was turned to what would be filling those artfully stretched arches
The answer to this question was a set of
18”Weds Kranze LSX rims – 9.5” broad up front, and a vast 11” out back. These intimidating
dimensions would probably have a commonZ31 looking over wheeled, but Adam’s fastidious
suspension work has seen to it that they tuck in perfectly. It’s got something
of the Hot Wheels about it, hasn’t it?
Peeping out through the fronts you can see a
set of brawny Wilwood calipers, drafted into aid the hauling up of that cheeky
thrust from the force-induced V6. These bent-sixes kicked out around 205bhp as
standard, and this is a figure that’s been delicately tickled by Adam; it’s not
an all-out engine build, but rather a refinement of Nissan’s peachy factory setup
– the addition of a custom exhaust system, boost controller and K&N filter
ensure that there’s more than enough impetus to keep the svelte coupé singing
down those winding Wisconsin back roads.
This ethos of ‘evolution, not revolution’ carries
over to the interior, where the OEM special-edition Recaro on the passenger
side is joined by a Bride Gias driver’s seat with a four-point harness, which
hangs off a custom bar that’s been welded in to the Auto Power four-point
roll-cage. The idea here is to accentuate and update the 1980s setup rather
than radically altering it, making a more appropriate cabin for a car that’s
been reworked to handle like a racer.
The
classic look Z31 Nissan 300ZX
